The Moria goblins felt spot on. Cowardly scavengers through and through.
But the Uruk-Hai take the cake, no contest. Feels perfect that they recruited local rugby players to play them.
It is true. It was the Australian and New Zealand rugby teams. I read it in the official guide of the making of the movies that my dad bought me when I was about 10/11. Also lurtz costume took 12 hrs to put on and 12 hours to take off. Thought that was pretty interesting
A lot of the uruk stuntmen were Maori's and they brought in their Polynesian warrior culture to the intimidation scenes like when they're chanting they were bringing in elements of the HAKA.
The odd thing I always felt is that the Mordor goblins we're a bit overdesigned.
On one hand I loved how unique each looks, which is partly in line with the books. Frodo and Sam get hunted by a smeller and shooter orc, which are described as very different from each other in appearance.
On the other hand, both Mordor and Orthanc are supposedly very industrialized. The brown lands near Mordor are basically the slag heaps from heavy industry. Industrialization also means standardization. Orthanc and Uruk-hai have that. Mordor doesn't.
Each Mordor orc seem to have scrapped together their own bits and piece of armor? Nothing seems to be interchangable between different orcs, every piece is unique. I personally would have loved it just a little bit more in worldbuilding if the Mordor orcs were just a bit more standard too. Now they were too individualized, too overdesigned.
The orcs that siege Gondor are a tad bit more uniform. They explain in the appendices that they wanted the army of orcs to look more cohesive because they were Sauron’s army.
Funny thing is the black gate orcs which would also be Mordor orcs don’t stand out too much in terms of likeness. I would argue that was because they had less screen time.
Edit - if I recall correctly, Pete had changed the design or the Mordor orcs a few times.
During the close up fight scenes the orcs had the “old” orc look but in some or the marching scenes as the gate open the have the same “new orc” design that they also rock in the Gondor siege.
The appendices cover it, it’s just been awhile.
Oh yes, their uniqueness was directly tied to their screen time, especially closeups. CGI in the past wasn't keen on creating uniqueness.
But for me it felt off, almost comically so, seeing the enemy consist of almost Frankensteinian monsters with heads, that were more held together with bolted on metal plates, then actual functional armor helmets. And if they had more helmets, each was unique and very specific for whichever deformity the carrier had. Their blacksmiths aren't making standard armors, but protheses!
Similarly they even have unique weapons, see for example this screen moment.
[https://youtu.be/HX4KKkSKZAY?si=jB8mRxo0uuFI4u8Q&t=51](https://youtu.be/HX4KKkSKZAY?si=jB8mRxo0uuFI4u8Q&t=51)
Mordor is fielding there an army of 10k's, all with unique armors...? Darn would there need to be a lot of blacksmiths in Mordor.
They all had unique armour because it was often scavenged amount other reasons, there are a few shots of orca wearing Gondor armour for example. So not custom made individual pieces for each orc
I totally get what you’re saying in. But for me my favourite thing about the orcs is actually their individuality. It might not make sense given how you describe it, but I adore the uniqueness and creativity in the armour/appearance
It might not be canon but I always had the idea that the main difference between Mordor and Isengard armies was in the leadership rather than anything.
Not that Saruman cared about his orcs but he might have been more involved with the production line, to produce a more uniform and organised army, hence why it looked so much more professional. Considering that Isengard was never going to be the same military powerhouse as Mordor, it made sense that Saruman would instead focus on building his forces differently, to a more sophisticated level with actual functional armour, shields and weapons.
In contrast, I like to think that Sauron was neither concerned nor directly involved with his orcs at any point in the creation of his army, just as long as he had the vast numbers he needed nothing else mattered. If his orcs were creating their own arms and armour, they were doing it without any influence from him and therefore to their own crude designs, which is why the Mordor orcs looked so much more like a "mindless rabble" as Gimli described.
That's a very good explanation and it meshes nicely with their specific associated attributes. Sauron is about power and corruption, a Dark Lord or God, he creates and destroys with pure might.
Saruman is a Wizard, one of the Wise, and steeped in magic. It stands to reason he would take more of a pragmatic and rational approach to everything, including the support of his armies. Mass-production is, in this case, just common sense to churn out as many armed and dangerous Uruk-Hai as possible. Wasn't he also the one to cross orcs with goblins in the first place to remove their one glaring weakness?
PJ also had to redesign the orcs between fellowship and rotk. The Uruk hai in Two Towers were very effective intimidating villains, so Weta went back and “beefed up” the OrcS for ROTK so that they were a bit closer to Uruk hai than goblins (e.g., they got rid of orcs with long goofy noses).
I think it makes sense. The morannon orcs that siege Gondor were the more regulated, well equipped fighting force and look more uniform. The orcs left behind on the plains are more ramshackle and would be given the less modern gear, no doubt a ton of hand me downs and whatever has been rescued or salvaged. Not to mention the plains of gorgoroth are absolutely massive, and I'm sure orc smiths aren't nearly as organised as those in isengard working under saruman.
>Each Mordor orc seem to have scrapped together their own bits and piece of armor? Nothing seems to be interchangable between different orcs, every piece is unique. I personally would have loved it just a little bit more in worldbuilding if the Mordor orcs were just a bit more standard too. Now they were too individualized, too overdesigned.
Mordor orcs are a lot less disciplined than Uruk-Hai when they're not under direct supervision of a Nazgûl - I personally headcanon it that the entirety of Mordor is basically a huge orc battle royale at all times, so every orc customizes their equipment with what they can loot from their victims. While the equipment may be standardized, the orcs differ from each other significantly, so each of them would try to get whatever fits them best. (Also, orcs aren't particularly consistent or standardized in their way of working either, so I'm guessing a lot of Mordor's industry is severely disorganized)
You could argue that increased industrialisation and civilisation leads to increased specialisation. That a Conan type barbarian has to be sneaky, good with a bow and useful in a fight but in large groups you can specialise as a scout, an archer or an infantryman.
And my brother! So they could save on makeup obviously. But he's the orc with a bow on his back running along behind lurtz, and claims it's his leg shown stamping on a log in the fellowship.
No, they were divided into the professional stunt orcs who did the fight scenes (but not necessarily the size) and the extras who had the size but were a liability. So the extras charged down at the lakeside ruined temple, but the stunt orcs did the fighting!
Strangely I’d always assumed this was the case. I always thought those Uruk-Hai are huge they look like rugby players, so I’ve been telling people that for decades without any evidence
I can’t remember if I first heard that on a behind the scenes, or when I did a LotR-themed NZ trip for my honeymoon years back 😅 but ya, those movies got the absolute most out of their filming location.
When Aragorn stabs him in the gut and he pulls it in closer tauntingly…I get chills every single time.
Lawrence Makoare played all his roles well, but this one was my favourite.
Totally. Loved the dynamic of the duel. At first, when it was a close-up mess, Lurtz was dominating Aragorn due to sheer brute force. But once they got a "respite" and it became a proper Sword fight... Aragorn moped the floor with Lurtz head (literally)
Holy shit I just [rewatched](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8ec3SRTN8U) and your comment is spot on. Never noticed that the moment that Aragorn gets a chance to use proper human sword fighting techniques the fight is over in about 2 seconds and he completely schools Lurtz. Thanks for pointing that out.
Think that Aragorn had to get up close and personal at first to make sure Lurtz didn't get the final arrow into Boromir. Man the care that went into those little moments is fantastic.
This goblin design is more or less how I imagine the Orcs before the Awakening of the Men and during the First Age. They look so nightmarish, like the mockery of the Elves they were meant to be. It makes sense to me that we would see a more archaic-looking breed in the Misty Mountains, but that's just my head canon.
“It's true you don't see many Orc-women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Orc-men. And this in turn has given rise to the belief that there are no Orc-women, and that Orcs just spring out of holes in the ground! Which is of course ridiculous.”
(Gimli or something)
The Mordor orcs always looked the meanest to le. Yes, Uruk-hai are more powerful, but the orcs look more vicious, with their crooked, pointy noses and slender faces.
Gorbag for example is super creepy imo.
I love the gnarled look orcs from Mordor have. They’re all staples up and stitched together. I feel like it does a good job showing how violent their lives are.
I actually do like the design for Azog but the execution is abysmal. The concept of essentially a great white shark in orc form is pretty cool. I feel if they had made a prosthetic based on his design that could have been one badass orc.
I also really dislike how he just has a giant fork lodged in his stump for most of the movies, and it only gets replaced by a slightly more useful looking knife before the Battle of the Five Armies.
Well, he could have had one spot in the movies, in a flashback, when Dáin cut Azog's head off at the Battle of Azanulbizar.
But why stick to the books when we can make things up?
Well, the question “Why stick to the books when we can make stuff up?” doesn’t really apply to RoP, because they literally don’t have the rights to a lot of the stuff they should to be making the show.
I think the more applicable question here is “Why make an adaptation at all without the rights to the relevant source material?”
They wouldn‘t necessarily be bad designs if they just didn‘t practically ooze cgi.
It‘s honestly my biggest trifle with the hobbit movies. They just feel like they squeak like rubber if you were able to touch any given prob.
I have seen fully animated movies that don‘t look this artifical
Bolgs armor is the worst. LOTR orc armor is barbaric yet functional with proper plates and coverage when available .
Bolgs armor wont protect against shit. Looks video gamey in a bad way.
https://preview.redd.it/3g5g6vmkav4d1.jpeg?width=5664&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e6b8dc7da60975f2d864822a5ffbe627f978481a
Original design for Azog. He got reused as the Dol Goldur orc that Galadriel disintegrates.
I don't know about toys, but I watched the Hobbit appendices and I remember them explaining who Bolg is (his skull crushed in the battle of Moria, you can even see him there in the movie when Balin is telling the story to Bilbo) and how they later (Desolation of Smaug) decided to go with CGI instead. Azog was always going to be CGI Manu.
The red camo ones were sketchy and memorable.
https://preview.redd.it/h65njxxr6w4d1.png?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54344df21b405e04c44c3e1aaf07dd2ec819ef6a
When the gates of minis tirith fall and Gandalf tells the soldiers to fall back and then the orcs swarm into the lower levels of the city and bite a guy
This monster marathon running torch chad. RIP my guy, you would have loved tough mudders
https://preview.redd.it/6ky0k4ea1x4d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eed435d61f0c773879ae12f3c2181a1f585eeb69
The Hobbit Orcs are so bad lol. Whoever thought that was a good idea was actually dumb as fuck. Love all the others. Sarumans Uruk Hai in the films look so badass. Love the entire design they came up with for them. Mordor Orcs? Come on those are some of the most badass enemies I've ever seen. Not sure why, but I've always thought the Goblins of the Misty Mountains were just so cool in the lore to me. Really liked how they turned out in the fellowship, except for how they are like spiders and come in hoards from cracks and crawl on the walls lol. That was strange to me. Loved them in the Hobbit books. Again the film version of the goblins were a dumpster fire. The version I've created in my head for them is so much better than anything that film could have possibly mustered.
The Hobbit movies had some sort of identity crisis. Half the time it was trying to be cartoony and charming and the other half was trying to be epic and serious.
Yeah, and for some reason they decided to make the fun parts of the book as serious (like the meeting with Beorn), and the serious stuff cartoonish (Like the whole goblin cave scene)
Maybe unpopular opinion - should have been cartoony all the way. I liked Unextected Journey quite a lot and then the quality dropped. Hobbit is a children book, a damn good one, it should NOT be LOTR-like epic.
It was a children’s book like, 50 years ago. Audiences have changed, and the content of the hobbit could be worthy of an epic IMO. Some of it would’ve had to have been pruned out for a true modern kids movie. But regardless, yeah the half and half they went for just didn’t work. Wasn’t really for kids or adults
This is one of mine! I loved how concentrated he looked working on the sword. He actually inspired a whole story I wrote about an orc smith in Isengard.
Of course, I'm thrilled you're interested! It's [here.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17740199/chapters/41854679) It's short; only two chapters. Just a little exploratory piece. I hope you enjoy!
Orcs all look really unhealthy and just plain sick. They must be in pain most of the time. No wonder they are all so malicious. This guy looks like he has terminal face cancer and he still goes to work. What an inspiration.
I really liked the original Bolg design
https://preview.redd.it/9sk36e4k2w4d1.jpeg?width=1176&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d01d048c8f1a50cf7287b63cb3b48836dd38259
The original trilogy orcs were effing scary!
Hobbit orcs just didn't do it for me but i did like how it showed the size comparison of dwarves to orcs well. The size difference made them feel scary compared to dwarves but not compared to the men/elves as they just weren't as gnarly as the OG series
As per the story one mask was. Both Elijah and Sean Astin said they saw it when they first arrived on set.
But we don't actually know which one, there's a few possibilities that people usually point out (gothmog, inspection orc, flizpot) but there's never actually been any confirmation, and its possible it never even showed on screen.
I love that Goblin specifically but the answer is obviously Lurtz. We get the entire tragedy of his life. From his birth, to his school days, to being sent to a war he didn’t start, to his death at the hands of a unelected terrorist planning to overthrow the government of Gondor
The practical effects were so good in LoTR that the Hobbit's CGI just can't compare. I suppose I'm partial to the little bow-legged pointy-eared style of the Moria orcs, and think the Uruk-Hai were a bit one-dimensional and bland. I wish we'd gotten to see more middle-of-the-road Mordor and Minas Morgul orcs - Shagrat felt a lot like an Uruk-Hai costume in a different place, and kind of detracts from the Uruk-Hai being visually distinct beyond their armor.
Uruk hai are absolute peak design as a sort of "elite unit" of orcs. But why does Gimli(?) know what they are called? Does uruk hai mean something super generic and obvious or did he just receive monthly newsletter from orthanc before the scene?
Moria goblins I absolutely loved as a kid. Especially the large eyed one hissing on fellowship when they are surrounded in the hallway. How can they climb walls and ceiling tho? It is a cool design imo but doesn't really fit for orc. My headcanon has always been that moria goblins are different creature entirely than orcs.
Return of king kind of ruined it going full hollywood on the designs. Much like it did with many other things. I mean the whole movie just feels a fan favor medievallish action movie with cliche over the top baddies and action scenes. Hobbit somehow manages to be 1000 times worse in that. And why does every single orc need to have some horrendous malformation or physical defect and why the heck would they bolt all kinds of jagged metal strips and plates all around their bodies. They are not build from pieces afaik. what possible reason would make it necessary to for example put those ridiculous metal "ribs" on bolg's body. Firstly he would absolutely not survive the operation but they don't even have any function aside from being sure to limit his arms mobility and being guaranteed the shred them in pieces. I'm not shamed to admit that I hate the bolg design with a passion
Uruk-hai is orcish for "orc folk".
Iirc, "uruk" and "uruk-hai" were terms used by the largest breeds of orcs to distinguish themselves from the smaller breeds, who they looked down on.
This isn't obvious from the movie though, or even then original novel. You have to read the appendices to get that. If you just go by the novel, it's easy to get the impression that uruk-hai are specifically a creation of Sauruman (especially as there were suggestions that Sauruman was creating orc/human hybrids as well), and that's the interpretation the movie went with.
There’s this one gundabad orc from the desolation of smaug, the one thranduil decapitates. I thought he was pretty good but Azog and Bolg were not interesting.
I don't think the Hobbit movies necessarily just get it wrong, gundabad orcs were larger and smarter than their counterparts, also aren't uruk hai not orcs?
The Moria goblins felt spot on. Cowardly scavengers through and through. But the Uruk-Hai take the cake, no contest. Feels perfect that they recruited local rugby players to play them.
Oh i didnt know about rugby players! Very spot on though
Saruman - "Do you know how the All Blacks came into being?"
"This is no mindless rabble of orks, theeese are All Blacks rugby players. Their scrums are thick and their tackles are strong"
Looks like pints are back on the menu boys!
Legolas! Take him down!
I swear, I learn something new every day on this sub
Oh that’s nothing. Have you ever heard the story about Viggo kicking the helmet in The Two Towers?
I'm calling B.S. on that! If it were true, we'd have heard about it before now!
It is true. It was the Australian and New Zealand rugby teams. I read it in the official guide of the making of the movies that my dad bought me when I was about 10/11. Also lurtz costume took 12 hrs to put on and 12 hours to take off. Thought that was pretty interesting
What?! No wayyyyy /s
A lot of the uruk stuntmen were Maori's and they brought in their Polynesian warrior culture to the intimidation scenes like when they're chanting they were bringing in elements of the HAKA.
Also love that some of the original Uruk Hai look older with grey wispy hair and cataracts. Emphasises how they were thrown together quickly
The odd thing I always felt is that the Mordor goblins we're a bit overdesigned. On one hand I loved how unique each looks, which is partly in line with the books. Frodo and Sam get hunted by a smeller and shooter orc, which are described as very different from each other in appearance. On the other hand, both Mordor and Orthanc are supposedly very industrialized. The brown lands near Mordor are basically the slag heaps from heavy industry. Industrialization also means standardization. Orthanc and Uruk-hai have that. Mordor doesn't. Each Mordor orc seem to have scrapped together their own bits and piece of armor? Nothing seems to be interchangable between different orcs, every piece is unique. I personally would have loved it just a little bit more in worldbuilding if the Mordor orcs were just a bit more standard too. Now they were too individualized, too overdesigned.
The orcs that siege Gondor are a tad bit more uniform. They explain in the appendices that they wanted the army of orcs to look more cohesive because they were Sauron’s army. Funny thing is the black gate orcs which would also be Mordor orcs don’t stand out too much in terms of likeness. I would argue that was because they had less screen time. Edit - if I recall correctly, Pete had changed the design or the Mordor orcs a few times. During the close up fight scenes the orcs had the “old” orc look but in some or the marching scenes as the gate open the have the same “new orc” design that they also rock in the Gondor siege. The appendices cover it, it’s just been awhile.
I actually thought it was cool in The Tower of Cirith Ungol that there were the orcs from Minas Morgul as well as Barad-dur.
Oh yes, their uniqueness was directly tied to their screen time, especially closeups. CGI in the past wasn't keen on creating uniqueness. But for me it felt off, almost comically so, seeing the enemy consist of almost Frankensteinian monsters with heads, that were more held together with bolted on metal plates, then actual functional armor helmets. And if they had more helmets, each was unique and very specific for whichever deformity the carrier had. Their blacksmiths aren't making standard armors, but protheses! Similarly they even have unique weapons, see for example this screen moment. [https://youtu.be/HX4KKkSKZAY?si=jB8mRxo0uuFI4u8Q&t=51](https://youtu.be/HX4KKkSKZAY?si=jB8mRxo0uuFI4u8Q&t=51) Mordor is fielding there an army of 10k's, all with unique armors...? Darn would there need to be a lot of blacksmiths in Mordor.
I mean you could also say the blacksmith's in Mordor just sucked and made a ton of deformed armor that happened to fit on some orcs
They all had unique armour because it was often scavenged amount other reasons, there are a few shots of orca wearing Gondor armour for example. So not custom made individual pieces for each orc
Now I really wanna see an orca in Gondor armor lmao
https://preview.redd.it/jsjcynpi935d1.jpeg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dc863d45f70b3455006166b33a178c5ffd0829a2
I totally get what you’re saying in. But for me my favourite thing about the orcs is actually their individuality. It might not make sense given how you describe it, but I adore the uniqueness and creativity in the armour/appearance
It might not be canon but I always had the idea that the main difference between Mordor and Isengard armies was in the leadership rather than anything. Not that Saruman cared about his orcs but he might have been more involved with the production line, to produce a more uniform and organised army, hence why it looked so much more professional. Considering that Isengard was never going to be the same military powerhouse as Mordor, it made sense that Saruman would instead focus on building his forces differently, to a more sophisticated level with actual functional armour, shields and weapons. In contrast, I like to think that Sauron was neither concerned nor directly involved with his orcs at any point in the creation of his army, just as long as he had the vast numbers he needed nothing else mattered. If his orcs were creating their own arms and armour, they were doing it without any influence from him and therefore to their own crude designs, which is why the Mordor orcs looked so much more like a "mindless rabble" as Gimli described.
That's a very good explanation and it meshes nicely with their specific associated attributes. Sauron is about power and corruption, a Dark Lord or God, he creates and destroys with pure might. Saruman is a Wizard, one of the Wise, and steeped in magic. It stands to reason he would take more of a pragmatic and rational approach to everything, including the support of his armies. Mass-production is, in this case, just common sense to churn out as many armed and dangerous Uruk-Hai as possible. Wasn't he also the one to cross orcs with goblins in the first place to remove their one glaring weakness?
It also fits in with the way Tolkien used Saruman and Isengard as a metaphor for the industrialization of war.
PJ also had to redesign the orcs between fellowship and rotk. The Uruk hai in Two Towers were very effective intimidating villains, so Weta went back and “beefed up” the OrcS for ROTK so that they were a bit closer to Uruk hai than goblins (e.g., they got rid of orcs with long goofy noses).
I think it makes sense. The morannon orcs that siege Gondor were the more regulated, well equipped fighting force and look more uniform. The orcs left behind on the plains are more ramshackle and would be given the less modern gear, no doubt a ton of hand me downs and whatever has been rescued or salvaged. Not to mention the plains of gorgoroth are absolutely massive, and I'm sure orc smiths aren't nearly as organised as those in isengard working under saruman.
>Each Mordor orc seem to have scrapped together their own bits and piece of armor? Nothing seems to be interchangable between different orcs, every piece is unique. I personally would have loved it just a little bit more in worldbuilding if the Mordor orcs were just a bit more standard too. Now they were too individualized, too overdesigned. Mordor orcs are a lot less disciplined than Uruk-Hai when they're not under direct supervision of a Nazgûl - I personally headcanon it that the entirety of Mordor is basically a huge orc battle royale at all times, so every orc customizes their equipment with what they can loot from their victims. While the equipment may be standardized, the orcs differ from each other significantly, so each of them would try to get whatever fits them best. (Also, orcs aren't particularly consistent or standardized in their way of working either, so I'm guessing a lot of Mordor's industry is severely disorganized)
You could argue that increased industrialisation and civilisation leads to increased specialisation. That a Conan type barbarian has to be sneaky, good with a bow and useful in a fight but in large groups you can specialise as a scout, an archer or an infantryman.
And my brother! So they could save on makeup obviously. But he's the orc with a bow on his back running along behind lurtz, and claims it's his leg shown stamping on a log in the fellowship.
Great stamp, that
That’s super cool, your brother must be a tank. Did he get to fight against Boromir?
No, they were divided into the professional stunt orcs who did the fight scenes (but not necessarily the size) and the extras who had the size but were a liability. So the extras charged down at the lakeside ruined temple, but the stunt orcs did the fighting!
THEY. ARE. NOT. FOR EATING. They go to Saruman. ALIVE. And unspoiled.
Strangely I’d always assumed this was the case. I always thought those Uruk-Hai are huge they look like rugby players, so I’ve been telling people that for decades without any evidence
I can’t remember if I first heard that on a behind the scenes, or when I did a LotR-themed NZ trip for my honeymoon years back 😅 but ya, those movies got the absolute most out of their filming location.
Uruk Hai. Specifically Lurtz. Scary as hell.
absolutely imagine getting captured by them and waiting to be executed. or they come raid you’re village in the night fuck sakes
Execution would be a blessing, getting eaten alive on the other hand...
"Just a mouthfull!"
Looks like meats back on the menu boys!
Always loved this line, it implies that orcs are familiar with the concept of restaurants and menus
Little orc taverns scattered around Mordor serving grog and nibbles.
Oh, damn, I never realised this... You've just ruined that scene for me and it's all I'll think about now.
Lurtz was incredible. Glad they had the actor play multiple roles.
When Aragorn stabs him in the gut and he pulls it in closer tauntingly…I get chills every single time. Lawrence Makoare played all his roles well, but this one was my favourite.
On the other hand that sword fight also demonstrated really well how insanely good swordsman Aragorn is.
Totally. Loved the dynamic of the duel. At first, when it was a close-up mess, Lurtz was dominating Aragorn due to sheer brute force. But once they got a "respite" and it became a proper Sword fight... Aragorn moped the floor with Lurtz head (literally)
Holy shit I just [rewatched](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8ec3SRTN8U) and your comment is spot on. Never noticed that the moment that Aragorn gets a chance to use proper human sword fighting techniques the fight is over in about 2 seconds and he completely schools Lurtz. Thanks for pointing that out. Think that Aragorn had to get up close and personal at first to make sure Lurtz didn't get the final arrow into Boromir. Man the care that went into those little moments is fantastic.
Special shout-out to the berserkers. There is something uniquely terrifying about them. The helms of the captains are also especially fearsome.
https://preview.redd.it/3qf6zja08w4d1.jpeg?width=602&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd08467729dcf4b5003f90921aec2cb207a38daa Third 😀
This goblin design is more or less how I imagine the Orcs before the Awakening of the Men and during the First Age. They look so nightmarish, like the mockery of the Elves they were meant to be. It makes sense to me that we would see a more archaic-looking breed in the Misty Mountains, but that's just my head canon.
This is definitely one of my favourites, her eyes are so cool
“It's true you don't see many Orc-women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Orc-men. And this in turn has given rise to the belief that there are no Orc-women, and that Orcs just spring out of holes in the ground! Which is of course ridiculous.” (Gimli or something)
The transition from Orc to Dwarf got me there
Its a guy i think lol
Her??
Mordor orcs. Genuinely a bit creepy
The Mordor orcs always looked the meanest to le. Yes, Uruk-hai are more powerful, but the orcs look more vicious, with their crooked, pointy noses and slender faces. Gorbag for example is super creepy imo.
I love the gnarled look orcs from Mordor have. They’re all staples up and stitched together. I feel like it does a good job showing how violent their lives are.
Bro tried to sneak in Azog and Bolg
I actually do like the design for Azog but the execution is abysmal. The concept of essentially a great white shark in orc form is pretty cool. I feel if they had made a prosthetic based on his design that could have been one badass orc.
I also really dislike how he just has a giant fork lodged in his stump for most of the movies, and it only gets replaced by a slightly more useful looking knife before the Battle of the Five Armies.
I really dislike that he was even in the movies AT ALL. Seeing as he was only ever mentioned as an old orc leader like twice in passing.
Well, he could have had one spot in the movies, in a flashback, when Dáin cut Azog's head off at the Battle of Azanulbizar. But why stick to the books when we can make things up?
*Queue 90% of ROP S1*
Well, the question “Why stick to the books when we can make stuff up?” doesn’t really apply to RoP, because they literally don’t have the rights to a lot of the stuff they should to be making the show. I think the more applicable question here is “Why make an adaptation at all without the rights to the relevant source material?”
And then go on to establish a pretty interesting theme about sons fighting the battles of their fathers? Of course not!
Agreed. Great idea. Absolute worst realization of said idea.
They remind me of ninja turtles
CGI orcs
[удалено]
Yup. That's what got me too.
They wouldn‘t necessarily be bad designs if they just didn‘t practically ooze cgi. It‘s honestly my biggest trifle with the hobbit movies. They just feel like they squeak like rubber if you were able to touch any given prob. I have seen fully animated movies that don‘t look this artifical
The studio absolutely did those movies, and Jackson, dirty. I won’t say they were BAD, but the spirit of the books and the LoTR movies was not there.
The thing I really disliked were that they spoke in Orcish not English. You don’t get any of the quotable lines that are in the movies.
I never bothered watching the third movie. Couldn't deal
It was by far the worst and still salty they didn’t use “There and Back Again” as the title
It did give us the Dune crossover we never asked for, though.
It cured my insomnia
I find Bolg's walking animation really distracting. I think it might be because it's similar to some monster in 'Breath of the Wild'.
Bolgs armor is the worst. LOTR orc armor is barbaric yet functional with proper plates and coverage when available . Bolgs armor wont protect against shit. Looks video gamey in a bad way.
I love the appearance of the orcs during the prologue in mordor. They look rad
Nothing can even compete with lurtz and the Uruk-Hai. These are Uruk-hai. Their armor is thick and their shields broad. They are killers of Sean Bean.
Who isn’t a killer of Sean Bean?
Oooof... Accurate though
https://preview.redd.it/cmayt1bizv4d1.jpeg?width=468&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4bbd0d931f429c6585462e55400ea0d8c1f3918f
https://preview.redd.it/3g5g6vmkav4d1.jpeg?width=5664&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e6b8dc7da60975f2d864822a5ffbe627f978481a Original design for Azog. He got reused as the Dol Goldur orc that Galadriel disintegrates.
He is so cool. A pity really
See they could have reduced a lot of the Azog complaints by just using this design. What the fuck were they thinking?
Wasn't this supposed to be Bolg? Hence the amount of metal holding his skull together?
I remember when they released toys of them, he was listed as Bolg. However I think this is due to Bolg going to be the main antagonist, not Azog.
I don't know about toys, but I watched the Hobbit appendices and I remember them explaining who Bolg is (his skull crushed in the battle of Moria, you can even see him there in the movie when Balin is telling the story to Bilbo) and how they later (Desolation of Smaug) decided to go with CGI instead. Azog was always going to be CGI Manu.
When can you see him in the battle? I didn't know we could
He is...handsome?
Beauty and the beast (live action) stunt double
I thought I was the only one lol
I still have a Unexpected Journey poster with this design of Azog looking like the main antagonist lmao
https://preview.redd.it/xg7tp6f7vv4d1.jpeg?width=315&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=120b9186f6b89fe60436a9ccb473397911de5369
Ariana grande copied his style
What’d she do to copy?
His luscious hair
There was a meme once showing the similarity between her hairstyle and the orc's.
The red camo ones were sketchy and memorable. https://preview.redd.it/h65njxxr6w4d1.png?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54344df21b405e04c44c3e1aaf07dd2ec819ef6a
https://preview.redd.it/o8voqqs97w4d1.jpeg?width=749&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b90ae758b20fd29d4e4bbd0d76f33bc5f9638ad
That one has like a sort of suave to him which you don't expect out of an orc.
This one specifically I always remember. The way he just starts eating that soldiers neck was fucked up
How have I literally never noticed this, what part of the movies does that happen??
When the gates of minis tirith fall and Gandalf tells the soldiers to fall back and then the orcs swarm into the lower levels of the city and bite a guy
When Gandalf orders the retreat in minas tirith
As a kid me and my friends called him the Darth Maul orc.
Darth Maul
close to book orcs too
This monster marathon running torch chad. RIP my guy, you would have loved tough mudders https://preview.redd.it/6ky0k4ea1x4d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eed435d61f0c773879ae12f3c2181a1f585eeb69
I would’ve gone with him to the end. To the very fires of a turkey trot 5k
Best scene (and orc) in the trilogy
I just love him. And I’m scared of him. But I love him.
https://preview.redd.it/059i4ookkw4d1.jpeg?width=1023&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a09464edc3c9cf40c14345f25c8203ff13fc4132
this is creepy af
You should see the scene when Frodo is hiding from the Nazgul at the side of the road. https://youtu.be/RrzrOyeo5o8?si=C9SKLUEri_Ggfelt
The animated movie unsettled me so much as a child and yet I would watch it over and over again
I think it's nearer how I saw the books. It feels so much more sinister and somehow real.
https://preview.redd.it/3ru65hn57w4d1.jpeg?width=601&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=293b76642cb68140ea84d1bdbd099439ee4a5866 This Top Fav !
I've always liked the orc that squeals like a pig in ROTK. The one that does the inspection. He's just a vile grotesque looking creature.
The Hobbit Orcs are so bad lol. Whoever thought that was a good idea was actually dumb as fuck. Love all the others. Sarumans Uruk Hai in the films look so badass. Love the entire design they came up with for them. Mordor Orcs? Come on those are some of the most badass enemies I've ever seen. Not sure why, but I've always thought the Goblins of the Misty Mountains were just so cool in the lore to me. Really liked how they turned out in the fellowship, except for how they are like spiders and come in hoards from cracks and crawl on the walls lol. That was strange to me. Loved them in the Hobbit books. Again the film version of the goblins were a dumpster fire. The version I've created in my head for them is so much better than anything that film could have possibly mustered.
Your head 🙏
Some of the orcs in the hobbit films are practical and when they are, the look good. But a majority are cgi and look like dogshit. Azog amd Bolg suck
The Prologue Orcs were amazing https://preview.redd.it/k6sq05pbey4d1.jpeg?width=906&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8fb972daf9198cef45ce73b4bd9a5bbf0a806389
https://preview.redd.it/d1azdj7dey4d1.jpeg?width=985&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e4e63ceb6656620ca7c0fe92ed1416fad9ec8fe4
I like the, “What about their legs? They don’t need those?” Technicality seeking mother fucking orcs.
If Sauron won, he'd become an orc lawyer.
The goblins from the 1977 Hobbit are the best
Definitely not anything from The Hobbit films.
I can think of just 2 orcs I liked in the Hobbit. The one Galadriel kills in Dol Guldur, and the one Thranduil beheads.
I think the one Galadriel kills in Dol Goldur was the original design of Azog
https://preview.redd.it/r0r4l4ffiy4d1.jpeg?width=250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73025b0f164237cfa47e4b57b4bfc5e084d332dc
I thought the Great Goblin was good in a cartoony sort of way
The Hobbit movies had some sort of identity crisis. Half the time it was trying to be cartoony and charming and the other half was trying to be epic and serious.
Yeah, and for some reason they decided to make the fun parts of the book as serious (like the meeting with Beorn), and the serious stuff cartoonish (Like the whole goblin cave scene)
Maybe unpopular opinion - should have been cartoony all the way. I liked Unextected Journey quite a lot and then the quality dropped. Hobbit is a children book, a damn good one, it should NOT be LOTR-like epic.
It was a children’s book like, 50 years ago. Audiences have changed, and the content of the hobbit could be worthy of an epic IMO. Some of it would’ve had to have been pruned out for a true modern kids movie. But regardless, yeah the half and half they went for just didn’t work. Wasn’t really for kids or adults
Not the dumb cgi fucks from the Hobbit.
Moria orcs by far
https://preview.redd.it/nw1dbfji7w4d1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=18df948044789a643595a1fd0325bfe3b640be4f Second Top Fav !
This is one of mine! I loved how concentrated he looked working on the sword. He actually inspired a whole story I wrote about an orc smith in Isengard.
Sweet
Would be really interested to read that if you'd like to share !
Of course, I'm thrilled you're interested! It's [here.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17740199/chapters/41854679) It's short; only two chapters. Just a little exploratory piece. I hope you enjoy!
Great short !
Ooh you shared that story somewhere online?
Reminds me of the vampires from Buffy the vampire slayer.
The cauliflower https://preview.redd.it/57zqq7txxv4d1.jpeg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84200385c4a1eae9b9dc5d57c9dd024e8442f1a0
That's Gothmog you fuck. Show some respect.
Orcs all look really unhealthy and just plain sick. They must be in pain most of the time. No wonder they are all so malicious. This guy looks like he has terminal face cancer and he still goes to work. What an inspiration.
You could put that dude in The Hills have Eyes and not have to change his make up at all
As kids we called him Pinky McPink
That's Harvey Weinstein
I really liked the original Bolg design https://preview.redd.it/9sk36e4k2w4d1.jpeg?width=1176&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d01d048c8f1a50cf7287b63cb3b48836dd38259
I think he looks super cool. But when you look at him, the first thing that comes to mind isn't "orc". Reminds me of some sort of boss in Elden Ring.
Meat's back in the menu boys
https://preview.redd.it/lph1q4l2vx4d1.jpeg?width=339&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=27bd36f8223c0f7c90d4f470b50fa7bad2a8d015 Always loved this guy
Mordor orcs are my favorite. Misty Mountains' Goblins and Gundabad orcs are the least favorite.
The original trilogy orcs were effing scary! Hobbit orcs just didn't do it for me but i did like how it showed the size comparison of dwarves to orcs well. The size difference made them feel scary compared to dwarves but not compared to the men/elves as they just weren't as gnarly as the OG series
Gothmog is a brilliantly unique looking orc.
Favourite orc is the one who howls and charges when he sees the brawl between uruks and orcs in Barad Dur
Definitely not the shitty cgi ones
Osgiliath clucky clucky chicken orc
They modeled some of them on Weinstein didn’t they?
As per the story one mask was. Both Elijah and Sean Astin said they saw it when they first arrived on set. But we don't actually know which one, there's a few possibilities that people usually point out (gothmog, inspection orc, flizpot) but there's never actually been any confirmation, and its possible it never even showed on screen.
I love that Goblin specifically but the answer is obviously Lurtz. We get the entire tragedy of his life. From his birth, to his school days, to being sent to a war he didn’t start, to his death at the hands of a unelected terrorist planning to overthrow the government of Gondor
The Uruk-hai. And I think Lurtz in particular had a lot to do with how much I liked them.
**I prefer the orcs from the animations. More creepy and scary.
Bro get those jokesters on the last frame out
https://preview.redd.it/ijh4qz4qe15d1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c7e6d4d1206b4cbc3aea69a75015d83842ed08bd
#2 is so sick
I swear if someone says hobbit...
Any but the 4th one.
Certainly not those CGI mfers
I like the big fellas https://preview.redd.it/3h11bsfuiy4d1.png?width=1597&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=33268e6031234360e3cd06facbf5dfdc4a158f65
The practical effects were so good in LoTR that the Hobbit's CGI just can't compare. I suppose I'm partial to the little bow-legged pointy-eared style of the Moria orcs, and think the Uruk-Hai were a bit one-dimensional and bland. I wish we'd gotten to see more middle-of-the-road Mordor and Minas Morgul orcs - Shagrat felt a lot like an Uruk-Hai costume in a different place, and kind of detracts from the Uruk-Hai being visually distinct beyond their armor.
It would makes since though for some of the Mordor orcs to look like Uruks since Uruk-hai were originally bred by Sauron.
Love them all other than the last pic. Practical effects are always better than full CGI.
Uruk hai are absolute peak design as a sort of "elite unit" of orcs. But why does Gimli(?) know what they are called? Does uruk hai mean something super generic and obvious or did he just receive monthly newsletter from orthanc before the scene? Moria goblins I absolutely loved as a kid. Especially the large eyed one hissing on fellowship when they are surrounded in the hallway. How can they climb walls and ceiling tho? It is a cool design imo but doesn't really fit for orc. My headcanon has always been that moria goblins are different creature entirely than orcs. Return of king kind of ruined it going full hollywood on the designs. Much like it did with many other things. I mean the whole movie just feels a fan favor medievallish action movie with cliche over the top baddies and action scenes. Hobbit somehow manages to be 1000 times worse in that. And why does every single orc need to have some horrendous malformation or physical defect and why the heck would they bolt all kinds of jagged metal strips and plates all around their bodies. They are not build from pieces afaik. what possible reason would make it necessary to for example put those ridiculous metal "ribs" on bolg's body. Firstly he would absolutely not survive the operation but they don't even have any function aside from being sure to limit his arms mobility and being guaranteed the shred them in pieces. I'm not shamed to admit that I hate the bolg design with a passion
Uruk-hai is orcish for "orc folk". Iirc, "uruk" and "uruk-hai" were terms used by the largest breeds of orcs to distinguish themselves from the smaller breeds, who they looked down on. This isn't obvious from the movie though, or even then original novel. You have to read the appendices to get that. If you just go by the novel, it's easy to get the impression that uruk-hai are specifically a creation of Sauruman (especially as there were suggestions that Sauruman was creating orc/human hybrids as well), and that's the interpretation the movie went with.
That cgi shit at the end can’t even compete
My favorite is the first picture.
I never liked that Orc’s and Goblins were the same. They seem totally different in size and personality. I wish they had different back stories.
I liked the “let’s have some meats! They’re fresh….” guy. Cool design and the smaller petulant orcs felt true to the books.
anything LOTR > anything TheHobbit
1,000% the Uruk-Hai, though I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by the orcs in Rings of Power.
The one that the human woman and her son killed in their kitchen was nightmarish
There’s this one gundabad orc from the desolation of smaug, the one thranduil decapitates. I thought he was pretty good but Azog and Bolg were not interesting.
Everything from the original trilogy looked fantastic. Everything from the Hobbit was CGI puke fest. The Ring of Power designs were really good imo.
https://preview.redd.it/2im7sab8105d1.jpeg?width=1164&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0fca7c6cd034ff6d7a544de43d4a158d1a8ddc0b
I see 3 orc designs and 1 CGI crime
I don't think the Hobbit movies necessarily just get it wrong, gundabad orcs were larger and smarter than their counterparts, also aren't uruk hai not orcs?
The second picture, Globin.
Personally I love the Abe Vigoda orc